Crossfire
by bel21
Summary: Someone once told AJ Lee that in order to cut a good promo, you needed to dig down and use your real emotions on the subject. AJ never expected that that same person would use his real emotions to cut a promo on her, which would break her heart into a million pieces.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own none of the WWE Superstars in this story, only the OC Characters and my story idea.

A/N: I've had an urge to write AJ and Punk for a while, and after seeing this week's Raw, it broke my heart and I knew that could be used as a starting point for my new fic. Hope you enjoy and let me know if I should continue!

* * *

Monday 24th September

_"I'll tell you what AJ. You forget last week's match ever happened, and I'll forget that you would show up to every Monday Night Raw wearing my tshirt."_

The words echoed in her head as she stormed around backstage. She knew it was a bad idea to begin with for the Creative team to let him bring up their previous storyine together. Due to their onscreen chemistry from that storyline, the wrtiers thought that they could play on that and show how antagonistic their onscreen relationship had become and help Punk move on up as Raw's top heel.

_"I'll forget the hundreds of text messages and voicemails, that are not fit to air here on the USA network, that you would leave me."_

It was also a bad idea to let CM Punk have so much input into his promos. The Creative team had no idea that the previous storyline extended beyond what was shown onscreen. They had no idea that deep down AJ Lee had been trying to deny her growing attraction to Punk. They had no idea that she was crazy for him.

_"Oh I'm sorry, am I embarrassing you? Oh please, don't let me do all the talking. Why don't you let everybody know exactly how intimate me and you were behind closed doors. Let them know that I'm the reason there's a little skip in your step. Tell them, tell them that I'm the best in the world."_

She would never forget those taunting words. Those words didn't speak the truth. There was no intimacy behind closed doors. There had been a friendship, and even more so on AJ Lee's part, a growing crush on her coworker. Punk had used that against her. He knew very well that she had some sort of crush on him, and like the jerk she thought he wasn't, he had used that against her, in front of the WWE Universe. For weeks, her and Punk had been inseparable, and lately, they had drifted apart. She wasn't sure why their late night hangouts and gaming sessions had slowly become few and far between, but after tonight, she realised he wasn't all he seemed to be and that something was up. As she moved through the backstage area, she could see the looks she was getting from the other talent and the backstage personnel. But now, as it had panned out on screen, she knew people were looking at her differently, and she knew that they were all coming to the same wrong conclusion. Tears brimmed on the edge of her eyes, and she furiously wiped them away with her hand. This was not supposed to be happening. CM Punk was her friend. Her confidante. Her gaming partner. Her late night feast buddy. More importantly, someone she could trust.

Or so she thought.

* * *

"You're a dumbass, you know that right."

CM Punk rolled his eyes, recognising the voice almost instantly as the person entered the shared locker room. Raw had just ended for the night, and the Superstars and Divas were packing up to head back to the hotel before their flights the next day. Punk had just finished having a shower and was getting dressed before he was interrupted by his friend. He turned around, pulling his tshirt over his head quickly, "What do you want, John?"

John Cena shook his head in disbelief as he leaned against the doorway of the shared locker room, "As if you don't know."

Punk grabbed his bag, pulling it over his shoulder and making his way to the door that John was blocking, "Oh c'mon, it was just a promo. I needed to get the heat. No matter what I do, people aren't buying the heel turn and I'm not getting the heat I need."

"So you attack AJ?"

"It was already planned!"

John looked incredulously at his good friend, "Judging by the look on her face, it wasn't! You ran her down and made her out to be one of the ring rats that hang around outside, and you know she's not. She's your friend."

Punk ran a hand over his face, "Jesus Christ, Cena! You're my friend too and I give you crap on screen and I don't see you getting all upset over it!"

"I'm not the one that's in love with you!"

A deep chuckle resounded through the locker room, "Oh for god's sake, she is not in love with me. It's just some school girl crush."

The former WWE Champion's face dropped, and he shook his head again, disbelieving that his friend was so blind to the truth, "That girl looks at you with stars in her eyes. What you did tonight wouldn't have mattered if she didn't dig you man. But she does, and I got to tell you, it sucked watching her run through the backstage area crying."

His hand tightened around his bag strap, a frown marring his features, "What?"

"Eve caught her hiding in the locker room crying. She's taken her back to the hotel early."

The WWE Champion swallowed, struggling to understand, "She was crying?"

John sighed, "I don't know what happened to you two over the past few weeks. But that girl has been miserable without you lately, and tonight, tonight was the last straw, Punk." He reached out a hand and patted him on the shoulder, "Talk to her, Punk. It's the least you could do."

CM Punk knew it was what was right and expected of him to do. But as he pushed past his friend, he had no idea what to say to AJ and he didn't even know if she would even listen to him.

* * *

AJ Lee could very well hear Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres talk about her from the other side of her bathroom door. Her two close friends had found her crying in the Diva's locker room, and as soon as their match was over, they had bundled her gear into a bag, pulled her out of the arena, and driven her to the hotel. The tears had since dried up on her cheeks, salt tracks were all that remained to show how upset she was. The entire car ride she had spent gazing out the window, trying to tune out the conversation happening in the front seat. Her friends were only trying to cheer her up, but that wasn't enough. She didn't want to cheer up. She just wanted to forget that tonight had happened. She prided herself on being a tough girl, and she never took anything to heart. But right now, she was acting like a heartbroken school girl. Punk had said those things about her, and she had no idea if he meant it or not. But knowing Punk, he always said that he spoke the truth in his promos. He would always tell her it was best to work off what you know and what you really felt about a situation. Right now as those words of advice ran through her head, a burning sensation tore through her chest at the realisation that Punk clearly thought the worst of her.

She gripped the towel around her tightly as she got out of the shower, having tried to scrub herself clean to forget the night. AJ could hear Beth and Eve discuss what had happened. Neither of them could believe that Punk would've stooped that low. AJ laughed to herself, bitterl. "Well that makes three of us," she mumbled, pulling on her underwear and a bra. Her small shaky hands reached for her trackpants and a tank top and she pulled them on, not even bothering to fix her hair. As she entered her bedroom, she noticed the two women go quiet, and she offered them a small smile, "I'm fine, don't stop on my behalf."

"Are you sure you don't want us to stay, April? We could hang out for a bit, watch movies and bitch about men?"

AJ smiled at the Divas Champion, "I just want to go to sleep, Eve, but thank you anyway."

Beth reached out to hug the small girl tightly, "You going to travel with us to the airport tomorrow? I won't take no for an answer."

AJ nodded against the blonde woman's chest, before being released and puhed into the direction of Eve, who hugged her just as tightly, "Thank you guys." She followed them to the door, and watched them leave, a small smile still on her face. She wanted them to think she was okay. She didn't want them to fuss about her now. It was late and she knew they were tired from their match, and the last thing she wanted to do was cry on their shoulders late into the night. She closed the door behind them and turned back to her bedroom, her eyes already brimming with tears that she thought she had none left of. A knock at the door startled her, and she frowned, scanning the room quickly to see if the girls left anything behind. At the sight of nothing unusual left, she moved to open the door, not even thinking to check who it was. Her breath hitched in her throat at the sight of the WWE Champion standing before her, and she moved quickly to shut the door.

CM Punk's arm shot out, and he stopped the door from closing, his eyes trained on the young girl, quivering in the doorway, "April.."

"Don't," hissed AJ, tears now making their way down her face. She shook her head, struggling to close the door against his strength, "Please, leave me alone."

"I want to apologise."

AJ laughed, despite herself, "For what?"

"For what happened in the ring."

She shook her head again, her teeth chewing at her lip, "No, you don't get to apologise."

"Yes, I do. It was the wrong thing to do. I stooped to my lowest, I know."

AJ watched for the sincerity on his face, and in his apology. She could tell it was heartfelt, but she wasn't about to accept it anytime soon, "Someone once told me that you need to use your emotions and thoughts from deep down in order to cut a good promo."

As the familiarity of the words dawned on Punk, his heart sank as he realised what she meant. He stepped closer, trying to push his way into the room, "AJ-"

"Those words weren't written down for you, Punk. Those words came from you. And deep down, you really think that of me. You really thought that the world needed to hear that AJ Lee was crazy for CM Punk. That I was some forgotten fling." Her voice only got louder, and her tears continued down her face, "I'm not some fling, Punk. I was your friend. And I don't know what happened to us. Maybe it's Paul. Maybe it's Amy.. Hell! Maybe it actually was me, but it just hurt to think that you couldn't come and talk to me about it. That you had to go and do that to me, Punk." She blinked away the tears clouding her eyes, "I was so happy. Everything was going so well, and now, God, it drives me insane to think that I didn't see this coming. What's worse is I still don't think I deserved any of this." She swallowed back a sob that tightened her chest, "Please, just leave me alone, Punk. If you want to make things right, just leave me the fuck alone."

Her words sunk in and CM Punk could do nothing more but to stand back, speechless, as he watched the hotel room door close. He stepped closer to the closed door, and leaned his head against the solid wood, and heard the sound that broke his heart. AJ Lee's gut wrenching sobs were all that he could hear, and he knew she had slipped to the floor on the other side of the door. An ugly feeling churned in his stomach and he knew he had done the wrong thing. He was an impulsive person, and he wasn't going to deny it, but he was also a selfish person. He saw an opportunity to gain more heat. Vince had been on his case about not doing enough to be Raw's top heel, and all CM Punk saw was his time to shine. What he didn't realise till afterwards, was that he had trampled on the heart of his good friend. He knew they had drifted apart over the past few weeks, and that was his own doing. He had people in his ear trying to get him to concentrate on his push to be the top heel, and what he left behind in his wake was his friends. He rubbed a hand over his tired face. For once in his life, he had no idea what to do, and he shook his head realising he needed to talk to someone.

CM Punk didn't even realise his feet were taking him someplace, until he came to a stop in front of another hotel room door and he sighed. He knew exactly why a part of him wanted to come here, and he groaned at his weakness. He reached up a tattooed hand and rapped his knuckles against the door, hoping his friend was free. The door swung open, and a pair of blue eyes stared back at him, "I fucked up."

John Cena chuckled, "I told you."

"What the fuck am I supposed to do?"

"That's what we were just discussing."

CM Punk frowned, and glanced over John's shoulder to see Mike Mizanin, Kofi Kingston and Nick Nemeth, otherwise known as Dolph Ziggler, sitting in John's hotel room. He looked back at John, slightly amused, "You were holding a mother's meeting about me?"

John rolled his eyes, grabbing his friend by the shirt and pulling him into the room, "Get inside, asshole."

The WWE Champion took a seat, raising an eyebrow at the group of men, "What do you want to know?"

"Everything about you and AJ," quipped Mike.

Kofi leaned back in his chair, "From the beginning."

* * *

A/N: Review and let me know if I should continue! :)


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own none of the WWE Superstars in this story, only the OC Characters and my story idea.

A/N: Good. Lord. I have never seen such a response to a chapter. The only time I've seen something close to that was when I had updated Bright Lights after a two month absence and some reviewers lost their shit at me. Lol. But thank you for the amazing reviews. They were very encouraging, and especially all the followers and alerts! Glad to see you guys enjoyed it. And for such a great response, I thought to do a quick update :) Enjoy!

* * *

Thursday 10th May

"This can't be good."

Daniel Bryan raised an eyebrow at his long time friend, "And why is that?"

CM Punk sat down in the seat opposite Daniel, his hand gesturing between the two of them, "You and me being called into a board meeting together? That's never a good thing."

"You're being extremely pessimistic."

A deep chuckle left Punk's lips, a teasing smile on his face, "Is that your word of the week?"

Daniel rolled his eyes, diverting his attention back to the magazine in his hands. It was true that he was also thinking the same thing. Both him and CM Punk had been called into a meeting with members of the WWE Creative team in the WWE office in Connecticut, and it was making Daniel nervous as to why the two of them were being called in. He had been racking his brains over the past few days since the call had been made to him, and he tried to figure out what the Creative team had planned for him and Punk. Daniel wasn't going to lie, but he hoped it was much better than his 18 second match at the most recent Wrestlemania. Sure, it was one of the most talked about moments, but he felt cheated and hoped they would be pushing them in the right direction. He glanced up from his magazine to see the office door open, and Stephanie McMahon-Levesque poke her head out, a smile on her lips, "Hey guys, we're ready for you now."

CM Punk shrugged, following Daniel and Stephanie into the board room, hoping that something good was going to come out of this meeting. Most of the time he spent with Creative, involved him being berated because he had somehow managed to transform his promos into something entrely different to what Creative had originally given him. He slumped unglamourously into the seat two over from Daniel, and chewed his gum obnoxiously, a smirk curling his lips at the unamused look on Stephanie's face. For all the crap he gave Stephanie, he honestly didn't have a problem with her now that she started listening to him more and was more open to pushing other members of the roster as he had indicated in his epic promo from the year before. "So what did we do now?" started Punk, chuckling slightly at the groan from Daniel.

Daniel reached over the empty seat to smack his friend upside the head. He smiled innocently at the group of Creative writers, "He lacks tact."

"So I've heard," said Stephanie, dryly. She shuffled through some papers in front of her, before handing CM Punk and Daniel a bundle of papers each, "We want to head in a new direction with you two. You'll be feuding together for the WWE Championship at Over the Limit, and then we will probably add a third competitor to the feud for No Way Out. Depending on the response to your feud, you may be looking at another match at Money in the Bank. But lets just start with the first two PPVs, because they are guaranteed." Stephanie McMahon was met with stunned silence from the two Ring of Honour alumni, and her eyebrows raised towards her hairline, curious as to why the two biggest loudmouths in the company were quiet.

Punk gaped for a few seconds as his employer, before gesturing wildly between him and Daniel, "You want us to feud together. US?!"

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"Are you high?!"

Punk's eyes widened as he stared at Daniel, "And you said I lacked tact!"

Daniel spluttered for words, waving the paper at Punk, "She wants us to feud together. You and me. US."

Stephanie watched amused as the two of them went back and forth, still in shock at the decision to have the two of them feud. She was still waiting for them to figure out the catch to it. She knew they were two of her most popular Superstars at the moment, however, she wanted something different with their feud. The two of them had just finished long time feuds with Chris Jericho and Sheamus respectively, and Stephanie wanted something different for these two men. She wanted to not only see them fight over the Championship, but over something else as well.

Punk frowned, turning to face Stephanie and he leaned back in his seat, regarding Stephanie, carefully, "There's a catch isn't there?"

A small smile curled the lips of Stephanie McMahon, "I thought you were never going to figure it out." She paused, waving at her assistant to go and collect someone from outside. Her smile broadened as another WWE talent entered the room, and she watched as CM Punk and Daniel Bryan stared at the young girl entering the room. Stephanie pointed at the seat between Daniel and Punk, and the young woman sat down, a shy smile on her face, "AJ will be the catch."

The WWE Champion snorted, burying his face in his hand, and even Daniel Bryan started chuckling. As their laughter subsided, Daniel shook his head, a smirk on his face, "We're going to be fighting over a girl."

Stephanie pursed her lips, "Not necessarily."

Punk shot a look at the young girl, who was slowly being portrayed on screen as mentally unstable, "You're not going to kill us, are you?"

AJ beamed a large smile at him, shaking her head, "Nope."

Stephanie McMahon leaned forward in her seat, her arms resting on the large board table they were gathered around, "Since AJ has become somewhat mentally unbalanced on screen, we've decided to keep her and Daniel in a storyline together. However, she will be turning her affections to you, but you won't be returning them. She'll be trying to help you in matches and stalking you backstage and so forth. And then once we add the next person to your feud, she'll be messing with all of you pretty much."

Daniel raised an eyebrow, "Whose this other person?"

"Kane."

Even AJ's face dropped, "Kane?!" She looked incredulously at Stephanie, "This storyline is getting crazier!"

Stephanie nodded, "My father wanted to try something new. He had high hopes for all of you, plus he wants this feud to run on both Raw and Smackdown. Trust me, it will all work out in the end."

"What does happen in the end?" asked Punk, leaning further back in his chair.

The head of the Creative team shrugged, "We haven't got that far yet. But trust me, if you guys can make this work, it will be worth it."

"Well, well, you and me again, April. We have had some fun times together. We are very much the odd couple." Daniel Bryan moved to wrap an arm around AJ's shoulders, a cheeky grin on his face.

"Touch me and die, Daniel."

Daniel grinned at CM Punk, whilst AJ had a small smile on her face, "See, she wants me bad." AJ pushed his arm off her, a giggle escaping her lips, and as the meeting came to an end, the three Superstars left the board room. Daniel checked the time on his phone, rubbing his stomach after hearing a grumble, "I could do with some lunch. You guys in?"

AJ nodded, rocking back and forth on her heels. She glanced at Punk, who was standing beside her. Looking up at him with her brown eyes, she smiled at him, "You going to come, Punk?"

CM Punk regarded the small woman next to him. They weren't exactly close, and had only started hanging out on occasion since she became an integral part of Daniel and Sheamus's storylines. As the two men were good friends with Punk, he'd been out and about with the two men, and AJ and Kaitlyn had joined them every so often. He didn't mind AJ from what he knew about her. She was a resident nerd like him when it came to comic books, and he enjoyed playing the odd Xbox game against her. As she rocked back and forth on her heels, he smiled at her, realising he was going to need to get to know her in order to pull off this storyline. With a smile on his face, he nodded, much to AJ's enjoyment, "I'll come."

The bright smile she sent back to him was contagious, and he couldn't help but grin back at the perky brunette.

* * *

Monday 24th September

"Dude, she so liked you from the second they put her in that storyline with you."

CM Punk looked incredulously at Mike Mizanin, "Are you insane? She barely knew me then!"

Nick Nemeth shrugged his shoulders, "Bro, you're an attractive man-"

Punk held up a hand, his eyes scrunched up closed, "I am not having this conversation with you." Nick only grinned, before jumping up when there was a knock at the door. He swung it open, and gestured for the two males standing outside the door to come inside. Punk groaned when he saw Sheamus and Daniel enter, "Are you guys serious?"

Sheamus sent a pointed look at John Cena, "You started without us?!"

John merely shrugged innocently, before grinning at the sight of Daniel Bryan leaning over and slapping CM Punk upside the head. CM Punk glared at his friend, and Daniel returned the glare, shaking his head, "What is the matter with you?"

CM Punk rubbed gingerly the sore spot on the back of his head, "Are you kidding me? What the hell did you slap me for?"

Sheamus let out a low whistle, "I think you can figure that one out yourself, fella."

Daniel took a seat next to Kofi and Nick on the couch, his glare still intent on his long time friend, "You are an idiot."

"So I've been told," shot back Punk, a scowl on his face, "And like I've told the others, I had to do it."

"No you didn't!" roared Daniel, glaring at Punk, "What the hell did April do to you? Huh? She was one of your good friends and you decide to pull a fucking pipebomb on her." He watched as Punk buried his face in his hands, raking his fingers through his hair frustrated, and Daniel only shook his head at him, "She doesn't deserve that. What the hell crawled up your ass tonight? Was it Heyman? Vince?"

CM Punk leant back in his seat, taking a deep breath and stared up at the ceiling. After a moment, he turned his gaze back to his friend, "I don't know. I was being a selfish prick-"

"I'll say."

CM Punk glared at Mike, "Alright, I fucked up. I don't need to be told a thousand times."

Sheamus shook his head, "It's not just tonight, fella. Ever since they got you turning heel, you've been a different man. And not to us, we haven't copped it. But to that poor lass, AJ. Why have you been avoiding her?"

The WWE Champion dragged another hand through his short hair, a groan escaping him, "I don't know."

Silence descended upon the group as they tried to figure out what to do. Kofi cleared his throat, getting everybody's attention, "I think Punk needs to continue with his story."

Punk nodded, but as he went to open his mouth, John cut in. The former WWE Champion let out a nervous laugh, waving at everyone to look at his iPad, "Uh, you might want to check your twitter." He turned the screen around and CM Punk's mouth dropped open, and his friends all looked on in shock at what was written on AJ Lee's twitter.

_ WWEAJLee: Hey CMPunk are you sure you want to expose the details of our personal life? I can play that game too. #someonesacuddler_

* * *

Within the space of an hour, AJ Lee had gone from sad and upset to angry. Never in her life had she felt more humiliated. Sure, when Daniel had broken up with her on screen, she had feigned the humiliation but that was all part of a storyline. What CM Punk had done to her tonight was not storyline. He'd gone too far and someone AJ thought was a close friend had instead trampled all over her heart and broken her spirit. She lay back in her bed, her eyes not even taking in what was happening on her television screen. Her phone was lying by her side, and only moments ago, she had made the rash decision to update her twitter and play along to Punk's allegations. She knew her fans would be wondering if there was any truth to what Punk had said. As upset as she was, AJ's quivering fingers had gained a life of their own and she had typed the tweet almost robotically. As soon as she had done it, she threw the phone to her side, not even wanting to see the possible response she was going to get. Her other hand reached over for the remote and she flicked through the channels, her attention slowly diverting back to the tv screen. As she settled on some late night chat show, her phone started to ring, and she froze, not wanting to look at who it was. After a few seconds, curiousity got the best of her and she glanced over at the phone, her eyesbrows crinkling in confusion at the caller id that was showing on the screen. Her small hand reached over and picked up the phone, pressing the answer button before putting the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey April, how are you?"

AJ frowned, her curiousity peaking, "I've been better." She paused, "Kelly, did Eve make you do this?"

Kelly Kelly let out a small laugh, "No, honey. I saw what happened on television, and I knew you might need a friend to talk to."

AJ sighed, raking a hand through her hair. She knew Kelly Kelly only meant well when she called. She hadn't seen the blonde Diva in weeks, since she was off exploring other modelling promotions, and she missed the former Diva's Champion. All the Divas were close behind the scenes, and since they were around the same age, the two of them had bonded over being the youngest in the business. She had been helping Kelly improve her wrestling technique before the blonde had taken time off. She sighed again into the phone, knowing that her friend just wanted to comfort her, "Look Kelly, now's not a good time. I just want to be by myself."

"AJ, you can't keep it all inside-"

The dark haired Diva cut her friend off, "I'm not keeping it inside. It's just too fresh for me to talk about, I promise. I'll call you when I'm ready to talk, Kelly, just not right now."

There was a moment of silence, and AJ thought to say goodbye, before she heard her friend speak again, "I know what it feels like."

AJ raised an eyebrow, confused at her friend's choice of words, "What?"

"I know what it feels like to have CM Punk trample all over your school girl crush."

The GM of Raw's breath hitched in her throat, and she struggled to form a coherent sentence for a moment, "What?!"

Kelly let out a small bitter laugh, "Remember my ECW storyline with him?"

AJ Lee remembered it clearly. It was before she had enrolled into Wrestling school, and she would watch all the WWE brand shows religiously. It was during 2006, when Punk had first burst onto the scene in the WWE and Kelly Kelly had developed an onscreen obsession with the young Straight-Edge Superstar. Much like her own onscreen persona had done, she had dressed in Punk's attire and cheered him on during matches, despite having a boyfriend. AJ frowned, remembering that the storyline had ended abruptly without another mention, and she always wondered why they hadn't continued it. "What happened to you?" asked AJ, sitting up in bed.

A sad sigh echoed through the phone, "Punk is one of my dear friends and he looks out for me now on the road, but back then, there came a time where we didn't speak for a while after what happened. He apologised months afterwards, but at the time, he was listening to the wrong people." She paused, "You have to understand, and I'm not bagging him out for it because I'd do the same, but Punk is a selfish guy when it comes down to the crunch. He saw an opportunity, and I guess, he thought I was going to mess it up somehow, so he just became this different person. He didn't want anything to do with me."

AJ frowned, knowing that the two former ECW stars were still good friends behind the scenes, "I don't understand. How could you forgive him?"

Kelly sighed again, "Fortunately for me, I didn't get the whole public humiliation like you did. I just got the whole distance thing. And I was only 19 at the time. I was still a teenager, and I had no idea what I had done wrong. He didn't want to talk to me. He stood me up once when we were supposed to get lunch one time. He made me feel like I was nothing."

"He's started doing that to me," whispered AJ, tears now brimming her eyes, her voice hitched as she spoke, "I don't know what I did wrong either."

Kelly's heart broke listening to her friend start to get upset again, "April, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry again."

AJ shook her head, a hand reaching up to wipe her tears away, "It's fine, Kel, don't worry." She paused, thinking over her next choice of words, "How come you took him back? I see you guys now, and he's always taking care of you like a big brother now."

"I grew up a little bit and grew out of the crush. What he did to me hurt too much for me to like him," said Kelly, "When I say, I took him back, I mean it was a slow process. He apologised, and deep down, I just wanted my friend Punk back, so I let him back into my life slowly. We're friends, but I'm just waiting for the day he turns around and does it to me.." She trailed off, "Unfortunately, he did it to you."

AJ let out a sob, "I can't take him back, Kelly."

The blonde felt like crying upon hearing the sob from AJ. Blinking back tears, Kelly spoke into the phone again, "I know, April. He hurt you so much more, I know. Look, I'm going to come to the Smackdown taping tomorrow, will you be there?"

"Yes."

Kelly smiled at the small yes, "I'll come meet you during the day and we can go out for lunch or an early dinner. How does that sound? I hate hearing you like this, sweetie."

AJ nodded into the phone, "That sounds nice."

"I'll get the other girls to come as well, and we will help get your mind off of him, ok?"

AJ smiled slightly, her tears slowing down, "Thank you, Kelly."

"It's no problem, sweetie. I'll see you tomorrow, get some sleep."

"Goodnight, Kelly." AJ hung up the phone, placing it on her bedside table. She sighed, grabbing the remote to turn the television off, and she pulled the blankets back to crawl under the covers. She couldn't help herself, and she reached out for her phone again, sliding the iPhone open. Her finger traced the Photo application, and she tapped it open, her eyes shining with tears at the many photos of her and her friends. Near the bottom of the folder of photos, were more recent ones. She chewed her lip, knowing it was a bad idea to look at them now, but she tapped on one particular photo, and her heart plummeted at the sight. It was of her getting a piggy back ride from Punk as they left one of the pitstops on the way to the show. Her finger traced the large smile on her face, before tracing the rare grin on CM Punk's face. This was her friend Punk. This was the man she had slowly fallen in love with.

She just wanted to know where he had gone.

* * *

A/N: Let me know what you guys think :)


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own none of the WWE Superstars in this story. I wish. All I own is the story.

A/N: Once again, the most overwhelming feedback I have ever received. Thank you so much for the 20+ I received on the last chapter and the alerts and favourites! My inbox almost had a meltdown! Here's another update for you, and hopefully you all enjoy it as much as you enjoyed the first two chapters! :)

* * *

Monday 14th May

"Hi, what's up?"

"Hi, I just wanted.. to.. uh I just wanted to say, good luck on Sunday."

"Well, I appreciate that.. um thanks," said CM Punk, his head turning left and right as he scanned the corridor for his PPV opponent, Daniel Bryan. He glanced back at the young woman standing before him, "Don't take this the wrong way but ah.. I don't want to get involved between you and your boyfriend or ex boyfriend or whatever it is you two are. I don't need the drama. I've known Daniel Bryan a long time, and I don't trust him." He continued looking down the hallway, worried the former World Heavyweight Champion was going to come out and attack him, "I don't want you to think that I think this is a set up or anything like that.. um, but I don't trust him. And you, I've known for a short amount of time, and in that time, you've been pretty um.. unstable, so you know I'll see you later." He moved away, having been backed into the wall by the unstable ex-girlfriend of Daniel Bryan. AJ Lee watched him disappear from beside her, a devastated look on her face.

"Cut!" cried a crew member, and the camera was shut off, crossing back to the scheduled match in the ring.

The segment that had just been filmed live for the WWE Universe was the first in a series of stalking opportunities on AJ's part, as she somehow weaseled her way in the WWE Champion's life. Stephanie McMahon beamed with pride at the Superstar and Diva standing before her and the previous devastated expression on AJ's face was also replaced by a wide grin. "That was perfect, guys. Punk, you'll be needed on Smackdown tomorrow by the way, but we probably won't do another of these backstage segments with you two till next Raw, alright?" At the two wrestlers' nods, Stephanie smiled, "Great. I'll see you tomorrow!" She turned on her heel, and left the two standing there.

AJ rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet, "So, think this is going to work?"

Punk eyed her warily, "You play the unstable role way too well. I was backed up into a wall there, did you know that?" At AJ's smirk, he rolled his eyes, "Of course you did. Did I mention your uncanny ability to play the unstable role well?"

AJ laughed, the soft sound echoing through the hallway that had since been vacated by the camera crew, "I'll take that as a yes, it's going to work."

The WWE Champion grinned at her, "That's what I meant." He turned down the corridor, heading towards the catering area. His interest perked when AJ fell into step next to him, "So, anything planned tonight?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "Nope, got a tonne of comics I need to catch up on."

CM Punk stopped in his tracks, and turned abruptly on his heels to face the young woman beside him. He looked quizzically at her, an eyebrow raised, "Woah, you mean to tell me, that you're not going out tonight with the girls, and instead you're staying to.." He struggled over the next word, "Read." His hazel eyes watched as she nodded her head, a smile on her face. He let out a small chuckle, "Huh, you really are crazy."

AJ's jaw dropped, her eyes trained on the figure walking away from her. Shaking out of her stupor, she stumbled after him, catching up to him, quickly, "Excuse me?"

"Vickie does it a little more high pitched than that."

She chose to ignore the smug smirk on his face, and darted in front of him, making him stop in his tracks, "I am not crazy."

A smirk curled the lips of CM Punk, and he leaned down, coming face to face with the young brunette, "Relax shortstop. I kinda dig crazy chicks." He sent her a wink, moving past her, his laugh echoing down the corridor as he disappeared from her sight. AJ watched him leave down the corridor, and a shy smile curled her lips. She shook her head, a small giggle leaving her lips. CM Punk was a strange one, and she smiled to herself as she turned back down the corridor towards her locker room. He was most definitely a strange guy but that didn't change the fact she was grinning stupidly from ear to ear. She shook her head again, trying to erase the smile from her face.

Sometimes she really hated being a girl.

* * *

Sunday 20th May

"To another five-star match!"

Mike shot a disgruntled look at his slightly intoxicated friend, "Stop feeding his ego!"

John Cena grinned, taking a swig from the beer in his hand. Majority of the Raw and Smackdown rosters were celebrating in a bar not far from the hotel they were all staying in. The PPV, Over The Limit, had just finished, and they had all decided to celebrate before heading off the next day for Raw. CM Punk leaned back in his chair, a smirk on his face as he observed his friends and coworkers gathered around him. Ego trip or not, he had to agree with John. Daniel Bryan and himself had put on a hell of a match, and it was the start of what was going to be a major Summer angle for the two of them. He took a sip from his glass of Pepsi, his eyes scanning the small bar that they were crowded into. His eyes landed on the group of Divas making their way into the bar, and a smile curled his lips. He laughed out loud as Brie Bella made a bee line for her boyfriend, Daniel Bryan, slapping him upside the head for leaving without her. As the Divas squeezed into various free spaces around the large table, his hazel eyes caught sight of the small dark haired Diva lurking behind the girls. Glancing around the table at the disappearing spots, he shuffled his chair to the left and gestured her to grab a chair and take a seat. She shot him a bright grin in appreciation for the gesture, and took a seat next to him. The WWE Champion didn't know what it was, but whenever that grin was shot at him, he had the sudden urge to return it. Shaking his head momentarily to get him out of his stupor, he leaned back in his chair again taking in the conversation around him.

"What you boys talking about?" asked Brie. Her boyfriend went to answer her, but she covered his mouth quickly, shooting another glare at the former World Heavyweight Champion, "Anyone but my darling douchebag of a boyfriend?"

Sheamus chuckled as Daniel struggled to get Brie's hand off his face, "Just congratulating Punk and your darling douchebag of a boyfriend on their great match." He shot a cheeky grin at the scowl on Daniel's face, and raised his beer in congratulations for the two, "Well done fellas, I have to agree that was quite the match."

Miz threw his hands up in the air, "It's like you want him to grow a more massive ego."

April laughed, "Is that even possible?"

"Ooooohhh!" yelled John, swaying in his chair, "Burn!"

CM Punk raised an amused eyebrow at his now very intoxicated friend, before turning his attention to the girl seated beside him, "Well, Ms Lee, when you're the best in the world, you are afforded the opportunity to have a massive ego."

AJ snorted, taking a swig from the beer in her hand, "God help me with this storyline."

He shot her a smirk, "Don't lie, you're going to love it."

"We'll see about that."

The Chicago native watched her in keen interest. She turned her conversation to Kaitlyn, who had pulled up a chair beside her after escaping Sheamus's attention. He was shaken out of his stupor from staring at the smart-mouth former NXT contestant by Sheamus, "It's not nice to stare, fella."

CM Punk snorted, turning his head to face the World Heavyweight Champion, "I'm not staring."

The red-head shrugged, a coy smile on his lips, "Looks like you got yourself a handful there with this storyline. She's a great girl, you know."

Punk knew where Sheamus was going with this, and he almost felt the urge to roll his eyes at the not so subtle attempts to push him onto AJ. He barely knew the girl as it was, but as he was slowly finding out, he was pretty sure he would like to know more about her. His ears perked up upon hearing the mention of the new Batman comic books that AJ seemed to be talking about with Kaitlyn, and he shook his head, laughing. It was like listening to a female version of him fanboy over the release of comic books. He didn't realise that Kaitlyn had seen his amused expression and she nodded her head, making AJ turn around.

The brunette raised an eyebrow, "Something funny, Punk?"

He paused from taking a sip from his Pepsi, an innocent expression spread across his features, "No, not at all." At her disbelieving expression, he smirked, "It's interesting to hear someone mark out as much as me over comic books."

AJ shot him a smirk to rival his own, "Maybe we're more alike than you think."

As she turned back to her conversation with Kaitlyn, Punk took another sip of his Pepsi, knowing that the other men around him had their eyes on him watching the exchange. He now definitely knew what they were all thinking, and he ignored them, instead mumbling to himself, "Maybe we are." And he was pretty sure, he was keen on finding out how alike they really were.

* * *

Monday 24th September

"Stop looking at me like that!"

Mike Mizanin held up his hands, innocently, "Looking at you like what?"

"Like I've done something wrong!"

"You have!" yelled Mike, looking at his friend incredulously. "That girl had her eyes on you from the beginning and you knew! You knew perfectly well how she felt and you strung her along and this is how you treat her!"

CM Punk all but growled at his good friend, before he stood up, glaring at the men gathered in John Cena's room, "I have had enough of this fucking intervention bullshit. I'm leaving!" He made his way to the door, but rolled his eyes as Sheamus stood in front of the door, blocking his exit, "Move out of the way, Sheamo."

Sheamus shook his head, his arms folding over his chest, "You need to work out what you did wrong, fella-"

His face contorted with anger, and he threw his arms up in the air, "You don't think I already know what I did wrong! I fucked up! I shouldn't have said what I said, alright! I'm fucking sorry, now let me leave!"

Another voice broke into the confrontation, "Just let him leave, Sheamus. He obviously doesn't get it."

CM Punk's ears pricked at the statement. He cocked his head to the side, his body turning to face John Cena, who had stood up from his seat on his bed, "I don't get it? Tell me, John boy, what don't I get?"

John folded his arms over his chest, his eyes glaring at his friend, "You may understand what you did, but you don't understand why you did it." Punk went to open his mouth, but John held up a hand, "Just shut up for a minute! Do you even know why you said all those things to her? You go around on your high horse demanding respect as part of your new attitude, but you couldn't even give someone respect even if you tried. That girl didn't deserve any of your shit tonight! AJ has stood by you and she's been your friend these past few months, and finally when you get to hit the goddamn big time again, you pushed her aside. That was bad enough watching her look so lonely backstage when you cast her off, but to watch what you did tonight?" John shook his head, a sad chuckle leaving his lips, "Watching what you did to that poor girl was something I would never expect from CM Punk. I don't know what's gotten into you, Punk, but I don't think even you know. When you find my friend again, let me know because as far as I'm concerned, I don't want anything to do with you from now on."

The WWE Champion stared at his friend. Sure, they had feuded on screen, and CM Punk had cut the promo targetting John Cena's obvious poster boy status. But behind the scenes, the two had become good friends over the past two years, and as John ranted to him, the Chicago native could barely believe that his friend had turned against him. He knew what he did was wrong. He wasn't sure how many times he was going to have to repeat that to people, but it was slowly dawning on him, that there was something more to what he said to AJ. He had been changing these last few weeks, and as he watched his friend turn his back on him, he knew that he'd gone way too far this time. His selfishness had gotten in the way again. It was one thing to have a problem with AJ, but now, his eyes couldn't help but glance at the disappointed looks on the men gathered in John's room. He knew that he'd fucked up royally. But a small part of him grew angry at the whole situation. No one seemed to understand it was a mistake, and they were all blaming him far worse than he expected. As the anger surged through his veins, he shrugged his shoulders, his jaw tightly clenched, "Fine. Whatever helps you sleep at night, Cena." He turned on his heel quickly, and reached for the door, slamming it on his way out. His face was red hot with anger, and he just wanted to get to his room and fast. As he arrived at his own floor, he groaned at the sight of two Divas standing by his door. Shaking his head, he pulled out his room key, intent on ignoring them and getting into his room as fast as possible. And without them.

"You outdid yourself tonight, Philip."

Punk rolled his eyes at the use of his real name, and more importantly, at the fact it was used by Beth, "I always strive to be the best, Beth. You know that."

Beth Phoenix folded her arms across her chest, unamused at her former boyfriend's words, "She is a mess."

His shoulders dropped and he turned to face the two women, his back against his closed hotel room door. He didn't want to deal with more people telling him what he did wrong. He'd had enough of that crap already. He sighed, "You don't think I know that already?"

Eve looked unimpressed, "If you knew that, why the hell did you do it?"

CM Punk shook his head, his anger reappearing from within, "I have just sat through six men telling me that I'm an asshole. I really don't need to hear it from you two, and especially you Beth, because it seems to be a common occurence for you, doesn't it?" He almost regretted his words instantly at the look on his ex-girlfriend's face. They had just slowly started being friendly again, since their breakup the previous year. But right now, he was pretty sure he had gone ten steps backwards in repairing their friendship.

"You really are a jerk."

"Yes, I am. And yes, I am sorry for tonight. I was wrong. But I did this for me. I needed to do this to become the top heel! Why doesn't anybody understand that?"

Eve threw her hands in the air, "Are you kidding me, Punk? You humiliated her on live television with LIES! You made her out to be some lovesick fool! You are the reason she's been crying her eyes out since that promo!"

"I'm sorry that I hurt her, but I had to do this for me! It was selfish I know, but I needed to do it!"

Beth sighed, "Punk, there had to be some other promo you could've cut on her. That was just wrong what you did!" She paused, raking a hand through her hair, "And it's not just tonight! We've all noticed you two have barely spent any time together. What is up with that?"

Punk shook his head, his mood only worsening as the conversation continued, "I'm not doing this right now. Just leave me alone. I'm done." He turned on his heel, furiously trying to get into his room as fast as possible and away from the two women that were driving him up the wall. He pushed the door open, slipping into his room, and slamming it shutm drowning out their protests to continue talking, "Go away!" His yell seemed to work as there was silence. But that only lasted momentarily before he heard Eve Torres exclaim one more thing.

"She never deserved this, Punk. I know you know that. She didn't deserve any of this."

* * *

Tuesday 25th September

"If you keep moving your food around your plate, I don't think it's going to disappear anytime soon."

AJ looked up at the small smile Kelly Kelly was sending her. She shrugged, resuming her mission to push the food around her plate for as long as possible. It was the day after Raw and the talent that were required for Smackdown had arrived in the town for the taping. Lucky for AJ, CM Punk was not needed for Smackdown and as far as she knew, he had flown back to Chicago. She didn't know what she would do if she saw him again today. He still hadn't responded to her tweet about him, but in return she had received so many tweets directed to her about that promo. She was flooded with never ending questions about their relationship, and AJ pretty much hated the fact that Punk had blurred the line between kayfabe and reality since his promo. Ever since then, she was sure that fans honestly thought everything they saw on television was real. She sighed, shaking her head to rid her mind of thoughts about the WWE Champion. There was no time to think about her former friend. The damage was done.

Kelly sighed, watching her young friend carefully, "AJ, you just need to forget."

The dark haired GM of Raw snorted, "Easier said than done."

"I know but you really-"

AJ held up a hand, silencing the blonde, "I know what I need to do, Kelly. I know I need to forget, but it's a little hard when I had clearly invested more in this friendship than he had." She stabbed a carrot, taking a quick bite, "I'm not going to forget overnight. But I will in time. Just give me time, ok?"

Kelly nodded, before turning her attention to the approaching figures of Nick and Kofi, "Hey guys."

Nick smiled, "Hey ladies." He fell into the seat next to AJ, while Kofi sat next to Kelly. His eyes glanced over at AJ, "How you doing, AJ?"

"Fine."

The man known more commonly as Dolph Ziggler raised an eyebrow at Kelly, who merely shrugged in return, "If you need anyone to talk to, you know you have us."

AJ cast a strange look at the two men seated at her table. The two of them were very good friends with CM Punk, and she was unsure why they were sitting with her, comforting her and offering her help. She looked at Kofi, quizzically, "What are you guys doing?"

Kofi held up his hands, innocently, "Just making sure you're alright."

"But you're Punk's friends."

Nick shook his head, "We're your friends too."

Kofi nodded, "He may be our friend, but he's a dumbass at the moment."

AJ let out a small laugh, "Yeah, he is." Her bottom lip suddenly quivered as her thoughts went back to Punk and the horrifying experience she had in the ring with him the night before. Her eyes brimmed with tears, and she could see her friends were looking at her with great concern. She felt an arm wrap around her, and Nick pulled her into his chest, her face buried in his pink shirt. Her sobs came quickly, and Nick's hand rubbed her back comfortingly.

"Shh, it's alright, AJ," said Nick, softly. He sent a look at Kofi. His heart broke for the young girl shaking in his arms. AJ had grown to be a part of their group, since she started to have the storyline with Punk and Daniel, and he had grown quite fond of the dark haired Diva. She was almost like a little sister to him, and seeing her this upset, was killing him inside. He rubbed her back, soothingly, waiting for her sobs to die down.

"AJ, we're so sorry for what happened," said Kofi, his arms resting on the table as he leaned forward to talk to AJ quietly.

AJ lifted her head, her sobs disappearing, "It's not your fault. It's his fault. And maybe it's a little mine. Maybe I did something wrong to deserve that-"

Nick hugged her tighter to his chest, "No you did not do anything wrong. He's just gotten selfish and I think he's been listening too much to Paul or whoever. He shouldn't have made you the scapegoat for his rise to the top. He's not really your friend if he did that."

"I really thought he was," mumbled AJ, her head still resting against Nick's chest. She was dying to ask them if they had spoken to Punk. She just needed to know if they knew why he did it, "Did you speak to him?"

Kofi shared a look with Nick, before releasing a sigh, "Yeah, we did, sweetie. But honestly, I don't think he even knows why he did it. And now John's not talking to- Oh shit."

Nick stared at his friend, not believing that he let that one slip. The last thing they needed AJ to worry about was the fact that John and Punk were fighting. John Cena had been a long time friend of AJ's, since she started with the company and she always confided in him. He felt AJ pull out of his hold, and he winced at the look on her face, "AJ.."

"John's not talking to Punk?"

The Money in the Bank winner glared pointedly at Kofi. His face softened as he turned back to AJ, "He's just angry at Punk. It's fine. They'll get over it."

AJ shook her head, "No they won't. I don't need John fighting my battles for me." She jumped out of her chair, wiping at her eyes, "I need to call him. This is all my fault-"

"AJ!" exclaimed Nick, furious that she would still think she was at fault for anything that happened the previous night, "It's not your fault! Stop saying that!"

The dark haired GM shook her head, "You don't know. Maybe it is. I don't know. I need to call John. I don't need him to do this." She continued to ramble as she ran off back to her locker room to get her phone.

Silence descended upon the table she just vacated and Nick glared at Kofi, who grinned nervously at him. Nick clenched his jaw, "Now I think I'm not going to talk to him either."

Kofi nodded his head in agreement, "He's messed her up, man." He cast a look at Kelly, "Sorry for ruining your lunch."

Kelly shrugged, "It's fine. I'm more concerned with finding Punk and possibly killing him."

Nick smirked at the scowl on her face, "Count me in."

* * *

AJ Lee paced back and forth nervously in the locker room, her phone pressed tightly against her ear as she tried to call John Cena. As soon as Kofi had uttered the wrods about John not talking to CM Punk, her stomach dropped. Sure, she was angry at Punk for what he did, but it was only her that was supposed to be angry at him. She didn't need anyone else fighting her battles for her. The darked haired woman knew that John meant well when he took her side, but she also knew it wasn't his place to go further and not talk to Punk. She'd already had some hand in turning Punk against her, she really didn't need to ruin John's friendship with her former friend.

"Baby girl, what can I do for you?"

"Why aren't you talking to Punk?"

"Who told you?"

She shook her head, "Don't worry about who told me, just answer the question!"

John's deep sigh resounded through the phone, "I don't agree with what he did to you."

AJ pressed a hand to her forehead, feeling a headache coming on from her lack of sleep and her continual sobbing, "Don't do this, John. It's my problem, not yours."

"He's changed, AJ, you and I both saw it happen over the past couple of weeks." John paused, thinking over his words carefully, "He's not the same Punk we know and I don't want to know this new Punk."

"I don't want to ruin another friendship!"

John frowned at the exclamation from the young Diva, and he pressed the phone tighter to his ear, "You didn't ruin any friendship!" His heart dropped at the realisation of what she was saying, and anger started to build up inside of him. He was going to kill CM Punk. The WWE Champion had somehow made AJ believe she was at fault for his sudden change in demeanour towards her. John growled quietly, running a hand over his short hair, "AJ, you listen to me! None of this is your fault!"

AJ pressed her back against the wall and her small body slid down to the floor, a fresh wave of tears filling her eyes and falling down her face, "Why did he do this to me then?"

The former WWE Champion sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He couldn't handle hearing a woman cry, especially one of his dear friends, "I don't know, baby girl. But what I do know is that it wasn't your fault."

There was silence before AJ whispered into the phone, "He was my friend, John. I thought I was in love with him."

John sunk to take a seat on his couch, and he rubbed a hand over his face, tired, "I know, April. I know." His insides were churning and he wanted nothing more than to get his hands on Punk, and knock some sense into him. He had some inclination that Paul Heyman was behind the new attitude that Punk was having. He also believed that Vince and the other Executives were putting pressure on him to perform better as a heel, but he never thought that Punk would compromise any friendship just to get further in his career. His heart was breaking as he listened to the quiet sobs from AJ, and he chewed his lip, unsure of what to say to her over the phone. He regretted his decision to not go to Smackdown and see her, "AJ?"

AJ hiccuped, her sobs slowing down, "I need to go John. I'll talk to you later, and please, just let me have my own battles, John. Don't risk your friendship for me." Before John could protest, AJ hung up, and buried her head into her knees. Her phone beeped again and she assumed it was John messaging her for hanging up quickly. Her small hand gripped her phone, shakily, and her heart dropped upon seeing who the message was from. She threw the phone to the side, not wanting to see the message. The words meant nothing to her anymore. He meant nothing to her anymore. And that's how the other Divas found her fifteen minutes later. Curled up in a ball on the floor of the locker room, tear tracks down her face, and her face red from crying. As Nat and Beth lifted her from the floor to take her to the bathroom to wash her face, Kaitlyn noticed her phone on the ground and she picked it up, her curiousity getting the better of her. As her eyes rea the messages on the screen, she passed the phone to Eve and Kelly, and Eve groaned, shaking her head.

"It's too late for this."

Kaitlyn sighed, pocketing AJ's phone to give back to the small Diva later, "You got to wonder what the hell was going on in his head last night."

Kelly glanced at the bathroom door, sadly, "I don't think we'll ever know."

Beth slipped out of the bathroom, leaving Natalya to help AJ for a moment, "What was on the phone? I noticed it was far away from her. Did she throw it?"

Kaitlyn nodded, pulling out the phone to show Beth the message, "I would too, if I saw this."

Beth Phoenix sighed heavily, "Sometimes that man infuriates me."

Splashed out across AJ's phone screen was a message from CM Punk, _"April, I'm so sorry."_

* * *

A/N: Review and let me know what you think and hopefully I'll get another update up asap! :)


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